Lower all lifeboats, build your bomb shelter and make out your last will and testament; the results are in and we”re doomed.

Republicans have taken over Congress and all hope”s lost. Given the media”s response to the election results, what else can we think? Headlines screamed “Government Divided” and “Midterm Massacre.” Television anchors looked sternly into the camera announcing a “midterm debacle,” “Democrats crushed,” “GOP tidal wave.”

Is it any wonder the public is battening down the hatches? As usual, the media”s blowing the whole thing out of proportion.

Nothing”s going to change, my friends. The right will continue to pound on anything with President Barack Obama”s stamp on it. They will continue to hold up presidential appointments and do all the things they”ve always done since he was elected.

Rhetoric will still run rampant on both sides and communications between the White House and Congress will end up stuck in a storm drain somewhere along Pennsylvania Avenue.

So rest easy, my fellow Americans, the country is still stalled in neutral and our expectations will remain unfulfilled.

Jerry Blair

Walnut Creek

Sexual violence on campus must stop

November 17-21 is National Week of Action to get students on college campuses educated and involved in preventing sexual harassment and sexual violence.

This is a pervasive problem, particularly the failure of college administrations to properly investigate what are often statutory criminal actions.

These issues exist at the high school level, too. At Berkeley High School, support for victims is poor, confidential reporting is unavailable and training for teachers and students is nonexistent.

Our organization, #BHSstopharassing, has decided that we must educate ourselves. With the assistance of national experts in sexual harassment, we are conducting a “teach-in” so that Berkeley High students and the larger community may be informed and involved in the movement to stop sexual harassment.

Our tables will be set up between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Civic Center Park in Berkeley, at Allston Way and Milvia Street, across from Berkeley High. Students and the community are invited to come by and learn about their rights to a safe educational environment. We hope to see you there!

Liana Thomason

Berkeley Thomason is a Berkeley High student.

Voters bamboozled on new water bond

It was nice of voters to hand Gov. Jerry Brown a two-thirds majority vote for Proposition 1.

My question: If we don”t receive any rain or snow in the next few years, will we get the $7.5 billion back? Or did the voters get bamboozled in the typical bait-and-switch maneuver that relieves them of their tax dollars? Pardon me for the rhetorical question.

The $69 billion bullet train, $27.3 billion twin tunnels bringing our water to Southern California, and Proposition 2 can be categorized in the same maneuver. No wonder our state is broke.

It might be raining tax bond money in Sacramento but not the real rain that will fill our current reservoirs or any possibly future reservoirs to be built. It also won”t guarantee water being sent in underground tunnels.

Regarding the high-speed rail, there”s no guarantee there will be enough passengers to help pay the exorbitant building cost. But it does guarantee there are some very happy special-interest contractors and politicians right now.

Pray for rain folks and perhaps some less greedy leadership.

Mark Sever

Concord

Some things simply aren”t up for debate

I want to publicly thank the Times and, in particular, James A. Shattuck for the publishing of his Nov. 6 letter regarding the falsehoods of global warming.

While it still remains plausible to me that the letter could have been written tongue in cheek, I”ll give the author the benefit of the doubt as to his seriousness.

Understanding even a limited set of information about our universe, one would think that Googling the statement, “The sun is the single greatest source of heat in our universe” to prove its inaccuracy should be completely unnecessary.

As for Shattuck”s statement, “What is it about smog and pollution that makes it different from anything else between me and the sun?” I would suggest Shattuck go outside and hold up a magnifying glass to his hand as he puts something between him and the hottest thing in the solar system.

Randy Thiel

Martinez

Must get real about our fossil fuel laws

Kudos to the 41 senators who stood for our future and rejected the Keystone XL pipeline.

But ultimately, we cannot continue to litigate and legislate every piece of the fossil fuel economy. I look forward to Congress addressing the bigger global warming picture by introducing carbon fee and dividend legislation.

If the real cost of Keystone XL were reflected in its price, it would be the pipeline”s future that is in danger.